A Nobody by the Road and Kokushibo

The passage of the Infinity Castle stretched out beneath his feet. Moyu's steps were light, yet each step landed on a spatial node.

At the end of the corridor ahead, a door slid open silently.

A figure stood behind the door.

It was a demon dressed in a black kimono, the outline of Demon Slayer Corps vaguely visible beneath, tied at the waist with a blue ribbon. Its skin was deathly pale, its eyes were jet black, and its face was covered with black tiger-striped demon markings. Fangs protruded from the corners of its mouth, and its nails were long, sharp, and had an ominous black hue.

Upper Rank Six (Temporary Worker), Kaigaku.

He held a sword in his hand. The blade was dark gold with lightning-like patterns, the hilt was the same color, the scabbard was black, and the tsuba was white with a triangular pattern on it. It was forged from his own flesh and blood, but deliberately imitated the appearance of the Nichirin Blade he once had.

Moyu's steps did not stop for him; he was too weak, not even as strong as Urinal, and not worth paying attention to by the roadside.

Kaigaku saw Moyu approaching, a smug smile spread across his face. He raised his sword, the tip pointing directly at Moyu: "Hey, you—"

Before he could finish speaking...

Moyu didn't even look. He raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers together, pointing to the location of Kaigaku.

He simply spoke calmly, "Spell Reversal—Hmm."

Buzz--

A dark red light condensed at his fingertips, instantly expanding into an energy ball the size of a fist. The next second, the ball transformed into a dark red beam of light with a diameter of over three meters, tearing through the air and blasting forward.

Wherever the beam of light passed, space itself trembled.

Kaigaku's expression froze. He wanted to dodge, to block, to use his Blood Demon Art, but it was too late.

The moment the beam struck him, the first thing to vanish was the dark golden sword. Starting from the tip, the blade dissolved into nothingness inch by inch, leaving not even ashes. Next came Kaigaku's hand holding the sword, his arm, his shoulder, his chest...

His body Disintegration like a sand sculpture, silently melting away in the dark red light. The last thing to disappear was his face, still bearing a look of astonishment.

The beam of light did not stop.

It pierced through Kaigaku and continued forward, crashing into the wall at the end of the corridor. The wooden wall vaporized the moment it made contact, followed by the room behind, and then the corridor beyond...

The dark red beam of light traveled straight forward for nearly a hundred meters, Annihilation everything in its path and leaving behind a huge, smooth-edged fan-shaped crater. The wooden structure at the bottom of the crater was completely wiped away, revealing a deeper, inverted room and staircase below.

When the light faded, only air remained where Kaigaku had once stood.

Upper Rank Six vanished from this world without even being able to utter a complete last word.

Moyu lowered his hand, his eyes completely expressionless.

Kaigaku was picked up from the street and taken to a temple by Gyomei Himejima when he was six years old. He should have been grateful and started a new life. However, after being driven out of the temple by the other children for stealing money, he chose revenge. That night, he secretly extinguished the Wisteria incense burner outside the temple to exorcise the ghosts and released the ghosts into the temple. Seven children died tragically, Gyomei was wrongfully imprisoned.

He later became a disciple of the former Rumble Hashira Jigoro Kuwajima, to learn Thunder Breathing, but never truly felt grateful. In the end, he betrayed his master to save his own life and became a demon, leading to his master committing seppuku in repentance.

Selfish, cowardly, and ungrateful.

People like Kaigaku will never recognize their mistakes, and will never repent. His very existence is an insult to kindness and justice; pure CS.

He continued forward, his footsteps traversing the Annihilation area, heading deeper into the Infinity Castle.

After walking for about five minutes, a relatively spacious hall appeared ahead.

In the center of the hall, a figure stood quietly.

He was a tall man, wearing a kimono with purple snakeskin and black spots, and riding a black horse. His long, dark red sideburns were tied into a high ponytail, and he had red Demon Slayer Mark on his left forehead and the right side of his neck.

He has six eyes, arranged in three rows. The sclera is red and the irises are golden. The iris of the middle eye is engraved with "" and "" respectively. (Your six eyes are not as strong as mine)

Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.

He held a knife in his hand. The blade, hilt, and guard were covered with eyeballs, which were slowly moving, observing everything around them. The scabbard was like a fleshy tumor, rising and falling slightly with his breathing.

The Void Cries God departs. This is a sword forged from his own flesh and bones; even if it breaks, it can instantly regenerate.

Moyu stopped at the entrance of the hall.

Kokushibo's six eyes turned to him simultaneously, their gazes calm and profound. The two were about twenty meters apart, and the air seemed to freeze.

"... Eye Hashira..." Kokushibo began, his voice low and deep, each word uttered clearly and slowly, carrying an ancient rhythm.

"Muzan... ordered me... to kill you..." Kokushibo continued, slowly raising the Hollow Cry Blade. The eyeballs on the blade all rolled, focusing on Moyu. "But... before that... I have a question..."

He paused, his six eyes fixed intently on Moyu: "What you're using... isn't Breathing Style... then what is it?"

Moyu remained silent for a moment, then slowly drew the Azure Star from his waist. The blade gleamed with a cold, flowing light under the dim glow of the Infinity Castle, and Red Nichirin Blade patterns quietly appeared on its edge.

"Beat me," Moyu said, "And I'll tell you."

Kokushibo's lips seemed to curl up slightly, which could perhaps be considered a smile.

"Very good..."

The moment the words left his mouth, Kokushibo moved.

His movements were incredibly fast; the twenty-meter distance seemed to vanish. The blade of the Void Crying God left a crescent-shaped trail in the air.

"Moon Breathing, First Form: Dark Moon, Night Palace"

The Iai Slash was so fast that the blade was invisible; only a silver arc of light could be seen tearing through the air as it slashed towards Moyu's neck. Countless tiny crescent-shaped blades of wind spread out along the trajectory of the slash, blocking all angles of evasion.

Moyu raised the Azure Star in his hand, its blade meeting the attack.

Clang--!

The clang of metal against metal echoed throughout the hall. The shockwave from the clash of the two swords sent spiderweb-like cracks through the surrounding floor.

Kokushibo's six eyes narrowed slightly. He could sense that the previous strike had been weakened by some invisible force; the blade's power had been buffered by an invisible barrier before it even made contact.

"A technique with no limits..." Moyu said softly, as if explaining, or perhaps talking to himself.

Kokushibo did not pause. When his first attack missed, his sword technique immediately changed.

"Moon Breathing - Second Form - Pearl Flower Moongazing."

He spun around, his illusory cry drawing two intersecting arcs of light. The blade winds bloomed like a crescent moon, each carrying tiny, sharp crescent blades, attacking Moyu from both sides.

Moyu moved.

His movements weren't flashy; they were simply sidesteps, retreats, and forward movements. But each movement precisely avoided the crescent-shaped wind attacks. The Azure Star in his hand transformed into a pale blue light screen, blocking the dense, impossible-to-avoid slashes one by one.

Clang! Clang! Clang--!

The sounds of clashing swords blended together. Kokushibo's attacks were like a relentless tide, each strike carrying the irregular crescent-shaped blade winds unique to Moon Breathing. These blade winds varied in size and had unpredictable trajectories, enveloping the entire hall in a net of death.

But Moyu remained composed and unhurried. After Muzan, Muzan needed time to break down the potion, and fighting Muzan in a weakened state was pointless.

Moyu's six eyes had already seen through everything. The way Kokushibo exerted his muscles, his breathing rhythm, his energy flow, and even the trajectory and changes of every crescent blade of wind were all clearly visible to Moyu.

"Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains."

A massive Full Moon Blade materialized at the tip of Kokushibo's sword, followed by a series of consecutive slashes. Crescent-shaped blade winds flew out in a crisscross pattern, accompanied by countless crescent moons of varying sizes.

Moyu clenched his fist, and the Red Nichirin Blade patterns on the Azure Star Blade shone with intense light.

"Azure Flow Breathing - Second Form - Mirror Dissection."

His swordsmanship suddenly became precise. Every slash and parry from Azure Star was aimed precisely at the weakest point of the Crescent Blade Wind. Those blade winds, powerful enough to cut through gold and jade, shattered and dissipated like mirrors the moment they touched Azure Star's blade.

Kokushibo's six eyes contracted simultaneously.

"This sword technique..." he murmured, his Void Crying God sword flashing even faster, "Moon Breathing, Fifth Form: Moon-Sickle Vortex!"

Without drawing his sword, Kokushibo spun around, creating a massive vortex of blades around him. This served as both an attack and a defense, repelling approaching enemies and leaving countless Full Moon Blades in its wake.

Moyu did not retreat. He took a step forward into the vortex of blade winds, and Azure Star pierced straight into the center of the vortex.

"Azure Flow Breathing - First Form - Vortex Slash"

The blade traced a spiral trajectory, cutting into the energy flow node of the blade vortex. The violent vortex collapsed and dissipated instantly, like a balloon punctured by a needle.

Using the momentum, Kokushibo leaped back and landed ten meters away. His expression became even more serious.

"You... are very strong..." he said, each word uttered slowly, "Stronger than... all the swordsmen I've seen since Yoriichi Tsugikuni..."

The illusory god slowly raised the blade, and the eyeballs on its blade began to rotate violently.

"So... how about this move..."

"Moon Breathing - Sixth Form - Everlasting Night, Lonely Moon - Infinite".

Kokushibo's figure swung his sword wildly, unleashing rapid, overlapping slashes at Moyu from all angles. As he released multiple blade winds, countless Full Moon Blades accompanied them, each slash real and aimed at a fatal spot.

Countless slashes descended at the same time.

"Azure Flow Breathing - Third Form - Myriad Forms Mimicry"

The trajectory of the Azure Star became unpredictable, the flashes of the blades were like a cascading river of stars, and the moon blades flew like a torrential rain.

The entire hall's floor, walls, and ceiling were left with deep marks from the slashes. The wooden structure shattered, and the debris flew through the air, only to be further pulverized by the subsequent blade winds.

The Kokushibo, the more terrified he became.

He could sense that Moyu wasn't using his full strength at all. Those eyes, covered by a black cloth, seemed to see right through him. Every attack was anticipated, every change of move was countered. That feeling... was just like when he faced Yoriichi Tsugikuni then.

No, it's even worse.

At least Yoriichi would take battles seriously. But this white-haired swordsman in front of him seemed more like... observing and adapting, and his abilities were also quite strange.

"Moon Breathing - Seventh Form - Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit!"

Kokushibo suddenly took a step back, and Hollow Cry God swept out. Five huge fan-shaped shockwaves advanced along the ground, accompanied by countless arc-shaped small blades of wind.

This attack covered the entire hall, leaving nowhere to hide.

Moyu released his left hand, gripping the knife only with his right, while his left hand held loosely in front of him.

"Spell forward rotation -- Cang."

A pale blue dot, about the size of a ping-pong ball, appeared in front of his palm.

Five shockwaves struck the point of light, and then disappeared.

Like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, not even a ripple is stirred. All shockwaves and crescent-shaped wind blades are twisted, compressed, and swallowed up the moment they come into contact with Cang's gravitational field, ultimately Annihilation.

For the first time Kokushibo's six eyes showed a look of shock.

"What is that..." he murmured.

Moyu did not answer. In the six eyes' perception, in a room deep within the Infinity Castle, the potion inside Muzan's body was being rapidly decomposed. The thousand-year-old Demon King's recovery speed had accelerated; it was almost done.

Moyu raised Azure Star, the tip of his blade pointing at Kokushibo.

"It's time to end this," Moyu said.

Kokushibo took a deep breath. He could sense that the other person's aura had changed. The previous ease and composure had vanished, replaced by an... absolute sense of oppression.

"Moon Breathing - Eighth Form - Moon-Dragon Ringtail!"

The Void Crying God swept across, a massive horizontal slash carrying countless giant Full Moon Blades, as if to cut everything in its path.

"Moon Breathing - Ninth Form - Waning Moonswaths!"

The blade turned into the air, unleashing a series of intersecting, invisible slashes. Countless blades of wind fell from the sky, sealing off all escape routes.

"Moon Breathing - Tenth Form - Drilling Slashes, Moon Through Bamboo Leaves!"

Three giant, swirling, crescent-shaped sword energies tore through the air, attacking from three directions.

Kokushibo unleashed Third Style techniques in one go. The entire hall was engulfed by crescent-shaped blade winds, and everywhere one could see was a silvery-white flash of light and the trajectory of death.

But Moyu simply walked towards him, slowly, each step landing in the gaps between the blades of wind. Those crescent-shaped blades, capable of slicing steel, deflected and dissipated as they approached within three feet of him, as if hitting an invisible wall.

Limitless Techniques – An impenetrable, absolute defense.

Kokushibo's pupils contracted. He saw it; the trajectories of those crescent-shaped wind blades began to distort when they were still some distance from Moyu, as if they were being deflected by some unseen force.

"Impossible..." he whispered.

Moyu raised his left hand, his index and middle fingers together, pointing at Kokushibo.

This movement caused Kokushibo's muscles to tense up instantly.

He had seen this starting stance before. In the scene shared by Nakime through Blood Demon Art, Moyu used this stance to Annihilation Kaigaku, as well as Doma and Akaza, with a single finger.

"Finally... you're going to use that move?" There was even a hint of anticipation in Kokushibo's voice. "Let me see... your true power."

"As you wish," Moyu said.

"Spell Reversal - Hmm."

A dark red light condensed at his fingertips, forming a rapidly expanding energy sphere. Violent flow and flickering could be seen inside the sphere, as if it contained boundless destructive power. The surrounding space began to distort and warp, light was swallowed up, and the temperature soared.

Kokushibo's six eyes were fixed intently on the energy sphere.

He could sense that it wasn't Breathing Style, Blood Demon Art, or even any power system he knew, but the dangerous aura it contained was incredibly strong.

"Moon Breathing, Fourth Form, Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon." Kokushibo gripped his swords with both hands, took a step forward, and then unleashed a powerful swing.

The Void Crying God drew a perfect arc, and countless enormous crescent-shaped blades swept forward into a fan-shaped area. Each blade was three meters wide, with edges as sharp as real blades, cutting even the space itself with tiny cracks. Each blade was accompanied by a dense array of giant Full Moon Blades, which spun and intersected, forming a storm of death.

But Moyu simply pushed the energy ball from his fingertip forward. The dark red ball slowly flew out, not fast, but when it came into contact with the first crescent-shaped wind blade.

There was no sound, or rather, the sound was Annihilation too quickly.

The moment the crescent-shaped blade wind made contact with the sphere, it melted, vaporized, and disappeared like ice and snow under the sun, completely destroyed at the molecular level, leaving not even a trace.

The second, third, fourth... all the crescent-shaped blades and all the Full Moon Blades vanished the moment they touched the dark red sphere, as if an eraser had wiped away pencil marks.

Kokushibo's pupils contracted to the size of pinpoints. He tried to back away, but his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground.

The sphere was only three meters away from him.

Two meters.

One meter.

Kokushibo used all his strength to hold the Hollow Crying God horizontally in front of him, and all the eyeballs on the blade opened to their maximum size at the same time, bursting out with blood-red light.

"Moon Breathing - Sixth Form - Moonbow - Crescent Moon!"

The Void Crying God swung upwards, unleashing several gigantic blades of wind that descended from the sky, each five meters wide, like divine punishment swords shattering the earth. At the same time, countless Full Moon Blades rained down like a storm, sealing off all escape routes.

But when the dark red sphere touched the tip of Xu Kushen's knife, time seemed to stand still for a moment.

The Void Crying God began to Disintegration, starting from the tip of the blade, inch by inch, turning into the finest particles. The bulging eyeballs emitted a silent scream before dissolving. The blade, the hilt, the guard... the entire alien blade vanished completely in less than half a second.

Kokushibo's hands were still in the posture of holding a sword, but his hands were now empty.

The sphere continued forward, touching his chest. There was no pain, only a feeling of emptiness, as if a part of his body had been wiped directly from the world.

Kokushibo looked down and saw a hollow hole in his chest, its edges smooth, revealing the view behind him. The hole was expanding, spreading outwards, and wherever it passed, flesh, bones, and internal organs all vanished.

He raised his head, and six eyes looked at Moyu.

Those eyes, covered by a black cloth, calmly "watched" him.

"So that's how it is..." Kokushibo's voice became very soft, "This is... the power that transcends... Breathing Style..."

Her energy began to erupt, and his body began to turn to ash, starting from his chest, spreading upwards to his neck and head, and downwards to his waist, abdomen, and legs.

Before completely dissipating, a hint of regret seemed to flash in Kokushibo's six eyes.

"Yoriichi... I still... lost...!"

The last words faded into the air.

Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, died.

The dark red energy ball continued forward, destroying Kokushibo and advancing another ten meters or so, Annihilation all the walls, pillars, and lanterns along its path, leaving behind a smooth trench several meters deep before slowly dissipating.

Moyu lowered his hand, and the corridor fell into a deathly silence.

The only sounds were the distant sounds of buildings shifting and the crackling of lantern flames.

According to the Six-Eyed Eyes' perception, in the room deep within the Infinity Castle, Muzan's aura was rapidly increasing. The effects of the potion were already minimal, Muzan Kibutsuji was about to fully recover.

Moyu raised his head, his face covered by a black cloth, and turned in that direction, slowly walking towards the deepest part of the Infinity Castle.